Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way encourages artists to write three journal pages each day as an exercise in discipline, free thinking, and cathartic clearing. The exercise also serves as an idea bank for future creative lulls.
If you are experiencing creative blocks, another technique is to spend time looking at art you might not normally view. Google links to several Art-A-Day or Painting-A-Day sites and many of them can be sent right to your email. Since I prefer Outdoor Art (Art Brut), I like revisiting the Masters as counter balance. Here are examples of some of the greatest works of western civilization. When's the last time you took a look?
1. The Golden Mask of King Tutankhamen
2. Parthenon Sculptures
3. Scythian Gold Pectoral
4. Nicholas of Verdun's Enameled Altar
5. Grotto's Arena Chapel
6. van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece
7. Leonardo's Mona Lisa
8. Michelangelo's David
9. Grunewald's Isenheim Altar
10. El Greco's Burial of Count Orgaz (pictured)
11. Velazquez's Las Meninas
12. Rembrant's Return of the Prodigal Son
13. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (at The Phillips Collection)
14. Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
You may also want to spend a lunch hour or two with the likes of: Leonardo da Vinci; Albrecht Durer; Caravaggio; Rubens; or Lysippus. The combined artists make the short list of some of the most interesting craftsmen - it won't be long until your name is on there too!
